About the proposed power linePlains and Eastern Clean Line has proposed and has planned the construction of a 700-mile high voltage direct current power line stretching from the Oklahoma Panhandle to Memphis, Tenn. The 600-kilovolt line will pass through Pope County and have the capacity to move 3.5 gigawatts of power, equivalent to the output of five or six coal-fired power plants. Similar projects are in progress to our north. The Grain Belt Express Line will pass throu...

‘Forty Chances’ — a fantastic bookMost people in America know the name Warren Buffett, because he is one of the richest people in the world. The last time I checked, he was listed third by Forbes Magazine with a fortune of $65 billion. What many people may not know is that he and his late wife, Susan, reared a terrific family that consisted of Howard, Susie and Peter. While reading a fantastic book titled “Forty Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World” written by his first son...

Use mercenaries to fight ISIS?On his Fox News show Monday night, Bill O’Reilly suggested using mercenaries to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) instead of U.S. ground forces, which President Obama has repeatedly vowed not to deploy. The use of mercenaries is as old as warfare itself. Alexander the Great used them. King George III hired German mercenaries to fight for the British in the American Revolution. Today mercenaries go by other names, like “contractor.” The president ...

Power of positive campaigningWith just under six weeks to the Nov. 4 Election Day, the pressure is on. With a Democratic sitting president with a low 44 percent approval rating, many Republican races across the nation are being run by tying the Democratic candidate to the president. In many cases, this might indeed create distaste for the Democratic candidate by the voters and lead to a Republican victory. But, with no clear path forward, who is to say that the voters won...

Asa vs. Ross: different, but not reallyThe race for U.S. Senate features two candidates of completely different ideologies, approaches, backgrounds and temperaments. If you believe that Sen. Mark Pryor is right, then you almost have to believe that Rep. Tom Cotton is wrong. The race for governor between former Rep. Asa Hutchinson and former Rep. Mike Ross? Not so much. State government, as opposed to D.C. politics, tends to force both parties to the center anyway, and that’s defini...

Who wants war?Some pundits are saying that President Obama has been floundering in his response to the ISIS crisis because public opinion polls show most Americans don’t want another war. In all my 84 years, I cannot recall a time when most Americans wanted war. That is something we should be proud of. But wars are not always optional. Even World War II -- which some have called “the good war” -- was not something that most Americans wanted. But the Japanes...

Debate shows new fault lines in raceLITTLE ROCK — Usually overshadowed by a nationally watched Senate race that could decide which party controls that chamber, Arkansas’ gubernatorial hopefuls showed they have just as many jabs to throw at each other as they met for their first televised debate last week. Democrat Mike Ross and Republican Asa Hutchinson have appeared at dozens of forums and events for well over a year in their fight for Arkansas’ top office, and have mostly stuc...

Beebe to donate to ASUIt wasn’t really surprising that Mike Beebe would choose to donate his gubernatorial papers, other media and memorabilia to Arkansas State University, but his announcement Saturday made a small group of ASU insiders and supporters especially happy. Beebe graduated from ASU in 1968, served on the Board of Trustees and remains close to his alma mater. The announcement delighted members of the Save the Kays House Committee, formed early in 2012 w...

Building creativityLITTLE ROCK — A robot, named Nighthawk, whizzed around my conference room in the State Capitol last week. The machine spun on its four wheels while flashing its bright lights and stopping on a dime at my feet. It chased a ball around the room, tossing it and fetching it, even catapulting it to me from across the room. It entertained all of the adults in the room, including leaders from across this State. But they were not the ones who built Ni...

State highway bids total $231.5 millionLITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department opened bids for 46 projects totaling $231.5 million. After a review of the bids, if the Commission accepts all of them as submitted they would comprise the largest single bid opening in Arkansas history. It would surpass the previous high bid opening in November of 2012, when bids for $222.5 million of projects were opened. The recent bid opening included what likely will be the ...

Minimum wage increase in ballotLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is one of 5 states this year where voters will be asked if minimum wage should be increased. Initiative 5 is one of two citizen-led initiatives to gather enough verified signatures to make it on the November ballot. This week, we will explain what this ballot measure entails. Next week, we will detail the other initiative which allows for the statewide sale of alcohol. Currently our minimum wage is $6.25 an hour. All emp...

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Arkansas House of RepresentativesThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

If I were the devilCONWAY — The famous baseball player Yogi Berra had many witty sayings called “Yogi-isms.” The one that I love is when he said, “When you come to a fork in the road — take it.” When we think about our nation today, from my perspective, we took the wrong fork. This fact is borne out by a media giant by the name of Paul Harvey who at one time was on 1,200 radio stations, 400 Armed Forces Network stations and in 300 newspapers. One of his most fam...

Smells and politicsAs a life-long, occasionally conscripted political volunteer, I've encountered my share of smells along the political way. Fried chicken in the summer at church picnics and BBQ on Fourth of July in Newnan, Georgia, (with the argument about which BBQ was better — Melear's or Sprayberry's). Then there was the smell of glue from the backs of the envelopes we were sending. (Yes, if there are enough freshly licked envelopes you can smell the sticky...

Why do Americans hate America?After some hand-wringing over British citizens who have chosen to fight with ISIS, Prime Minister David Cameron said he thinks one reason for the defection is that too many of the defectors have forgotten what it means to be British. As a means of fighting the radicalization of young people, he wants all of Britain’s schools to again teach “British values.” It is a diagnosis Americans would do well to consider because an unknown number of Amer...

Late-talking childrenAnyone who knows what anxiety, and sometimes anguish, parents go through when they have a child who is still not talking at age two, three or even four, can appreciate what a blessing it can be to have someone who can tell them what to do -- and what not to do. That someone is Professor Stephen Camarata of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, whose recently published book, “Late-Talking Children” gives parents information and advice that ...

How not to get your country backThe tea party mantra, “I want my country back,” resonates with many. The racial undertones can be ugly (as well as pointless). But the longing for an economically secure America centered on a strong middle class is on point and widely shared. Older and mostly white members of the far right tend to see themselves as model Americans who worked hard, saved up and played by the rules. They may have done all the above, but many also have no idea of...

Alcohol fight focuses on local controlLITTLE ROCK — Near Arkansas’ state Capitol, a billboard erected by opponents of a ballot measure to legalize alcohol sales statewide doesn’t warn voters about potential dangers of expanded drinking. Instead, it tells them to vote to “keep tax dollars here.” The sign shows the dilemma opponents of the alcohol measure face as they near the November election: How do you win support from voters in a state where beer, wine and liquor are no longer ...

Commission tackling high cost of college athleticsEven the reform-minded Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics doesn’t seem to know what to do about the march toward professionalism in major college sports programs. The commission met last week and, according to a commission news release, vowed to “intensify its efforts to promote changes that better align athletic programs with institutions’ educational missions.” But no consensus or recommendations came out of the meeting, except a...

20 years of AmericorpsLITTLE ROCK — Every day, you can witness Arkansas’ volunteer spirit in action. You may see individuals, families and groups who show up to lend a hand at the site of a natural disaster. There are many in our communities who take the initiative and give their own time and resources to start programs that help make our hometowns better places to live. Ginger and I see it all the time among all the nonprofit organizations that hold events at the ...

Register to vote by Oct. 5We are rapidly approaching an important deadline in Arkansas. Oct. 5 is the last day you can register to vote and still cast a ballot in the November general election. Because the deadline this year falls on a Sunday, the Secretary of State’s Office will continue to accept applications the following business day. The Secretary of State’s Office reported 1.6 million Arkansans are currently registered. That leaves over a half million adults in o...

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Arkansas House of RepresentativesThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley